Posts by NewYork44M

106

Just got back from the 2004-2005 circuit assembly here are a few thoughts.

by PaNiCAtTaCk in

jw
friends

upon arriving i ran into lots of old friends and really enjoyed seeing everyone and visiting.

they dont know that im currently struggling with doubts about the organization and they think that im the same old zealous brother.

i couldnt help but feel a sence of guilt visiting with them about our current number of publishers and how many we had pioneering ect.

NewYork44M

Other religions are also more than willing to use urban legends for their own purposes. Notice this comment:

Several years ago, a virgin young lady was on spring break in our state. She kept herself pure all through high school, but found herself in a hotel room with a stranger giving up her purity. He gave her a wrapped gift to be opened after they parted. She opened it to find a miniature casket with a note: "Welcome to the wonderful world of AIDS." (http://www.holybiblesays.org/articles/presex.htm)

35

Dropping attendance and disolving congregations

by RunningMan in

jw
friends

well, i came across a couple of interesting pieces of news yesterday, that i thought you would all find encouraging.

while i was standing in line at macdonald?s yesterday morning, i ran into a couple of jws from the other side of town.

they were up in my area because (not surprisingly) they were laying tiles at a local bar and the work had to be done on sunday morning.

NewYork44M

Blondie wrote:

They'll just see it as simplifying as they are doing with the Awake being printed only one edition a month.

Is that official? I have not heard that yet.

106

Just got back from the 2004-2005 circuit assembly here are a few thoughts.

by PaNiCAtTaCk in

jw
friends

upon arriving i ran into lots of old friends and really enjoyed seeing everyone and visiting.

they dont know that im currently struggling with doubts about the organization and they think that im the same old zealous brother.

i couldnt help but feel a sence of guilt visiting with them about our current number of publishers and how many we had pioneering ect.

NewYork44M

Here is a source for the "welcome to the wonderful world of AIDS" urban legend:

The subject of AIDS has become more solemn, and the lore reflects this shift in tone. The following straight legend is from USA Today:

Wednesday night [22 October 1986], novelist Jackie Collins (Hollywood Husbands), ever the chronicler of sexual adventure, shared what she said was a true story on Joan Rivers' show.

A married Hollywood husband picked up a beautiful woman at a bar. They enjoyed a night of passion at a good hotel; in the morning he rolled over to find a sweet thank-you note. Class, he thought, real class. Then he walked into the bathroom and found, scrawled on the mirror in lipstick, "Welcome to the wonderful world of AIDS."

Not knowing if the woman had been kidding or not, he didn't dare have sexual relations with his wife, and it could be a long time before he'd know whether he had become an AIDS victim ("AIDS" 1986:2D).
This legend was widespread by early December 1986. In one version, the man went the next morning to be tested for AIDS and learned he did not have the disease. This variant makes it clear that people are still largely uneducated about AIDS: there is no test for AIDS per se, and it can take six months or more for the body to produce detectable antibodies to the virus.

http://www.temple.edu/isllc/newfolk/reactions2.html

27

Out of the Blue, An Elder Calls

by FreePeace in

last night, my cell phone rang and it was a number i didn?t recognize.

i answered, and the voice said, ?is this doug??

and he said, ?this is dd ?

NewYork44M

just to make my position perfectly clear?IF it is all true and Armageddon does come, I will die flipping Jehovah off while I tell him, ?Fuck you!??

Thank you for saying that...My thoughts exactly.

19

What Things Can You Suggest To Piss The Watchtower / "Brothers" Off???

by minimus in

jw
friends

NewYork44M

The best way to "piss" of the society is to leave and have a normal successful life.

As witnesses we always heard how bad it is on the outside and that if we left the protection of the organization our lives would be horrible. By showing that a person can leave and be successful is a "slap in the face" to the society.

33

Are we having an impact on the WTS?

by Maverick in

jw
friends

thanks to pro-active people like simon i do believe we have an impact on the wts.

i think ex-witnesses are better adjusted and recover quicker because of these web sites.

i know i was able to deprogram and come to terms with being in that cult for 24 years much quicker than being divorced after 15 years.

NewYork44M

Living a successful life on the outside in full view of the society has to have an impact. That is my strategy. I hope it works.

30

2004 Service Report - Analysis and trends for 2005

by truthseeker in

jw
friends

by now, most of you will have seen the scanned images of the watchtower's service report for 2004. i do not have the feb 1st magazines, so i cannot speculate further on the reason for not issuing the report in the january 1st 2005 wt.

looking at the figures, there are some trends that should be considered very disturbing to the wt leadership.

although baptisms increased marginally by 3,571, the difference between the average number of publishers and the number of baptisms is eye-popping indeed.

NewYork44M

If you take away the actual number of publishers 6,308,341 that there were in 2004 from how many there SHOULD be, and it indicates that approximately 1,137,508 people have left the Organization since 1997!!

Great observation. So, well over 1M people have left the organization. As we are aware you also need to keep in mind that most of the baptisms are coming from children of witnesses and most of these eventually fade away. In addition, there are significant numbers who hang around only because of family or emotional ties. If I was on the inside I would be scared "sh*tless." These are terrible numbers. And for an organiztion that lives for numbers it has to hurt.
I remember when I was a true believer I did similar statistics for the period around 1975 and was astounded at the high number of witness vanishings. However, after about 1979-1981 the vanishings decreased substantially. A person could justify staying around because we still had the "generation" to hang our hat on.
What is the case now. The "generation" crap no longer exists and the lawyers who run the organization won't allow another 1975 situation, thus no more date setting. So the R&F have nothing. Those that have any independent thinking have left and the remaining are only a "shell" of what was in the organization in years-gone-by.
But that is only my opinion. Thanks fo listening.

9

Some figures for the 2004 Annual Service Report - taken from E-Watchman

by truthseeker in

jw
friends

interesting points below.... http://e-jehovahs-witnesses.com/viewtopic.php?t=1194&postdays=0&postorder=asc&&start=0.

we have now received the 2004 service year report in feb 1st 2005 watchtower.

there have been good things happening over the year.

NewYork44M

It always drive me crazy when I see a phrase like:

$93 million dollars has been spent in caring for those in full-time service

The society give a number but without any supporting documentation or additional explaination we are left with more questions than answers. What does 93M mean? does it mean that this is the total amount spent by the society for all operations including bethel? Does it include capital budget items like the new printing presses? Is there money spent by the society that is excluded by the $93M? What about all the capital improvements made to properties in the Brooklyn Heights area. Does the amount include the cash spent on those items? The list of quetions are endless. However, you will never get any answers.

I remember when the society began including a dollar amount as part of the annual report. I heard many say how wonderful it was that the society was letting the friends know how hard they were working. However, it is just another example of "selected" information that is used to manipulate; but the information can not be considered meaningful.

18

Do witnesses picket when they are on strike?

by JH in

jw
friends

when a company is on strike and employees picket outside the building with signs, do witness employees participate in any way?

usually there is a strike fund for those who picket.

what about the witnesses, how do they proceed when their company is on strike, and do they get the same amount of money as the others who picket?.

NewYork44M

I remember when young my father was a union member and worked for a factory that went on strike almost every year. He did not join the picket line and thus did not get the "strikers pay" from the union during the time they were on strike. However, he did not cross the picket line. I actually don't think the factory operated during that time. The time was always treated as an unpaid vacation. In regards to receiving any pay increase. I agree with jb, there is nothing wrong with collective bargining and receiving a pay increase. He paid his union dues.

53

2004 Worlwide Report

by frogit in

jw
friends

i have the scanned 2004 report pm me and i will email them to you.

grand total (235 lands) 6,513,132 2004 av pubs 6,308,341 inc over 2003 % 2.0 2004 no baptised 262,416 av pio pubs 858,461 no of congs 96,894 toal hours 1,282,234,887 av bible studies 6,085,387 memorial attendance 16,760,607 memorial partakers 8,570. note the fine increase!.

frogit.

NewYork44M

jgnat,

Your statistics prove that increasing the quality of life is a satanic conspiracy to stop the light of the truth from shining. Thank you satan!